Andrew James Pennington (1 February 1960 – 28 January 2000) was a British

Liberal Democrat Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party, Democratic Liberal Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties have usually followed liberalism as ideology, although they can vary widely from very progr ...

politician and a posthumous recipient of the

George Medal The George Medal (GM), instituted on 24 September 1940 by King George VI,''British Gallantry Medals'' (Abbott and Tamplin), p. 138 is a decoration of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, awarded for gallantry, typically ...

in 2001. He was a

Gloucestershire County Council Gloucestershire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Gloucestershire, in England. The council was created in 1889. The council's principal functions are county roads and rights of way, social servi ...

lor from 1985 until his assassination in 2000.

Political career

Pennington lived in

Cheltenham Cheltenham () is a historic spa town and borough adjacent to the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort following the discovery of mineral springs in 1716, and claims to be the mo ...

, Gloucestershire. He was elected as a Liberal to

in the 1985 election, defeating the incumbent Labour councillor in the

Hesters Way Cheltenham West is an area in the western part of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. It is the generic name for an area which includes the council wards of Hesters Way, Springbank, Arle, Rowanfield, Alstone, Fiddlers Green, St Mark's and some ...

division with a majority of 183 votes, obtaining 38.6% of the vote overall.Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher, Gloucestershire County Council Election Results 1973-2009. The Elections Centre, Plymouth University.
/ref> He was re-elected as a

in 1989 with 70.1% of the vote (a majority of 1,307 votes), and in 1993 held his seat with 73.3% of the vote (a majority of 1,272 votes). In his last election in 1997, he was re-elected with 65.2% of the vote (a majority of 2,071 votes).

Murder

On 28 January 2000, Pennington was acting as an assistant to Nigel Jones, the Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament (MP) for

, during Jones's

constituency surgery A political surgery, constituency surgery, constituency clinic, mobile office or sometimes advice surgery, in British and Irish politics, is a series of one-to-one meetings that a Member of Parliament (MP), Teachta Dála (TD) or other politica ...

. A constituent, Robert Ashman, whom Jones had been helping with legal disputes, attended the surgery and suddenly attacked Jones with a samurai sword. Pennington came to Jones's defence but was fatally injured; he was stabbed nine times from behind, with at least six of the wounds going all the way through his body. Jones survived the attack but was badly injured in the hands. In 2003, Ashman was found guilty of the attempted murder of Jones and admitted to Pennington's manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

George Medal

Pennington was posthumously awarded the

by Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

on 30 October 2001. The citation reads:

Trial and aftermath

In February 2001, the suspect in Pennington's killing, 49-year-old Robert Ashman of Lansdown Place, Cheltenham, was initially charged with the murder of Pennington and the attempted murder of Jones, but the jury at

Bristol Crown Court The Bristol Crown Court is a Crown Court venue which deals with criminal cases at Small Street in Bristol, England. The building, which was completed in 1868, was previously used as a main post office before it was converted for judicial use in ...

decided that he was mentally unfit to stand trial. After a three-day hearing, they returned a unanimous verdict that Ashman did kill Pennington and a majority verdict that he injured Jones. Ashman was sent to a secure hospital for an indefinite amount of time. The High Court judge said at the time that Ashman was so disturbed that "she could not foresee a time when he would be safely released." Ashman was released in July 2008 after psychiatrists determined that he was no longer dangerous. In 2009, he was living temporarily in

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

and told authorities that he wished to move to

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city, non-metropolitan district and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West England, South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean ...

, close to where Jones and his family live. Lord Jones raised concerns with Justice Secretary

Jack Straw John Whitaker Straw (born 3 August 1946) is a British politician who served in the Cabinet from 1997 to 2010 under the Labour governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. He held two of the traditional Great Offices of State, as Home Secretar ...

about the proposal.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pennington, Andrew 1960 births 2000 deaths Members of Gloucestershire County Council Recipients of the George Medal People from Cheltenham Liberal Democrats (UK) councillors English murder victims People murdered in England Deaths by stabbing in England Assassinated English politicians Attacks on British politicians European politicians assassinated in the 2000s Politicians assassinated in 2000 Assassinated councillors